How I Tested the Best Spyware Programs

Determining the Best Spyware Programs Takes Time and Patience

Today, there is nearly 100 different products available online and in stores promising to remove spyware and adware, while preventing identity theft and securing your computer.

Did you know that some of these products are themselves spyware concealed behind a fictitious program? Or, in many cases work so poorly that they provide little to no protection?

Wanna Know a Little Secret?

Many of the programs offered online exclude certain spyware or malicious code from their "black list" or "definition list".

Why? You may ask.

Well, the "definition list" is the list of all the "bad" code that can steal your information. Excluding certain "definitions" from that lists means the program will not detect the code on your system, and therefore, not remove it.

Why would a company not want to remove some of these "bad" codes?

Because the company is, in some way, affiliated with that code, so removing it would jeopardize their business model.

What is My Point?

How are you supposed to know what programs are legitimate and which ones are fictitious when they all promise practically the same thing?

The quick answer is you don't know.

Unless you purchase each program and test them against each other there is basically no way you can tell. Of course, this takes time and a great deal of money - something most computer users are not willing to give up.

My Solution to the Problem

I've decided to spend my money and my time testing each program so you don't have to. I've done my best to offer an unbiased test and review of each program, giving you a fair overview of each program's performance so you can make an informed decision about what program is best for you.

If you would like to suggest a program for me to test and review, please contact me.

It should be known that NONE of the tested programs performed flawlessly. Don't let this discourage you though.

It is simply impossible for any single program to detect all of the threats out there today, especially considering new threats are created daily.

Fortunately, my tests have indicated that pairing two or three of the best spyware programs together can give near 100% effective coverage. Read more about why one spyware removal program is not enough!

How I Test for the Best Spyware Programs

All tests are conducted on a Dell XPS system. System configuration includes: 1 GB of memory, 120GB hard drive, 2.8 Ghz Pentium 4 Processor, Windows XP Professional with all available updates (as of 11/12/2006), Internet Explorer 6 with all available updates (as of 11/12/2006) and an always-on DSL internet connection.

Phase 1: To ensure the computer system was not infected by the manufacturer prior to shipment, I completely erased the hard drive using WipeDrive which uses US Department of Defense 5220.22 M standards and the Gutmann's algorithm to ensure complete data deletion from the drive.

Phase 2: I reinstalled Windows XP Professional and Internet Explorer 6. No other software was installed.

I updated Windows XP Professional and Internet Explorer 6 to the most up-to-date versions available from Microsoft's website. I updated all hardware drivers to the most current versions.

Phase 3: Prior to any testing, I compiled a CD of the 5,436 most current threats today (as of 11/12/2006). These threats included, but are not limited to spyware, adware, keyloggers, trojan horses, worms, dialers, toolbars, and hijackers. These threats were then installed on the computer.

Note: Please do not contact me asking for a detailed list of the threats and how they were installed. I will refuse any such request in order to protect computer users.

Phase 4: The computer was left powered-on and connected to the internet through an always-on DSL connection for 24 hours to allow the threats to "do their thing".

Phase 5: One of the programs to be tested was installed on the system. All available updates were installed from the vendor. I set the program to perform a "deep scan" of the system.

Phase 6: After the scan was complete - elapsed time, threat detection effectiveness, threat removal effectiveness, and the overall software score was calculated.

Phases 1-6 were repeated for each program being tested.